Interspecies Incident
by Original Prankster
Summary: Garrus thought she was gone forever.  Garrus was wrong.  Maybe it would have been better that way.
1. Chapter 1

In the dark corners of his mind Garrus Vakarian was screaming. As he went about his day, helping to secure places for the Turians marooned on Earth, a long dark howl echoed through his internal peace and it remained as he worked for the good of the whole. His Turian upbringing had served him well in this case, he kept working, kept his placid demeanour, but the few who knew him had seen the peace leave him. He had known it was a one way trip, he had just assumed it would be a one way trip for both of them. He had been reluctant to leave on the Normandy after Shepard had been taken up to the Citadel, but there had been an emergency and she would not have wanted him to wait on her when he should be leading the team. So he had done his duty, fortunately they had just hit the Sol relay when they began to blow dumping them at the edge of the solar system. Joker had managed to limp back to Earth where they landed on an island somewhere, if it hadn't been for the comm systems and falling Reaper debris he might have considered it a different world.

Whilst the mass relays had failed, the FTL drives still remained operational, but there were still millions of sentients trapped outside their home systems and it might take decades to clear the backlog. Still Garrus walked through the motions of helping them move the Turians, played his part, went to the small room the Alliance could spare him at the end of the day and stared at the ceiling until sleep claimed him. He had once told Shepard he always assumed the worst so didn't see the point in wasting perfectly good sleep with bad dreams and it was still true. He had good dreams, seeing her with him, in the sunlight and he slept blissfully. It made waking up every day more gruelling.

'Hey Garrus!' He looked up and gazed at the man waving his arm at him.

'James.' He acknowledged with a nod, seeing the N7 armour and feeling a fleeting pang. 'Don't often see you around this neck of the woods.' He'd gotten better with human idioms after being around the young marine.

'In the middle of Turian HQ? I think it's fair to say you've never seen me in this neck of the woods.'

Garrus shrugged and exposed his teeth, smiling was difficult and baring teeth just felt hostile to him but it put humans at their ease so he tried. 'I see you completed your N7 training.'

James smirked and thumped his chestplate soundly. 'You know what I had to do for this? I had to face down an army of rampaging Asari, on my own, with a pen knife.' He smirked and Garrus chuckled softly.

'So why are you here? As naïve as I am, I don't think it's because you desire my company.' At least not dressed in battle armour anyway, they'd shared some beers, or their Turian counterparts, a couple of times since the… unfortunate incident.

The marine hesitated and Garrus lifted his head, it was not like James to be hesitant and it signified something big. 'Well yeah, about that… The Alliance are asking for your help off world for a bit.' Garrus waited, the big-mouthed man couldn't let a silence sit unfilled and he wasn't disappointed. 'They've found something that requires your delicate touch.'

'Does it require calibrating?' Garrus asked with a mildly amused tone and James grinned before pausing and then shrugging.

'Not as such, it's classified but as a friend, I think you should come.' Garrus frowned at the tone of voice.

'Is it about Shepard?' He asked. Some members of the Alliance had tried to keep his relationship with her a secret, the idea of their war hero fraternising with an alien was unappealing, especially when they had to "breed up a new population." He'd really wanted to shoot the admiral who had said that. Of course, he'd spent a good deal of the past ten months wanting to shoot everything in sight so it was nothing new.

'It's classified soldier.' James said in a tone that reeked of testing out Shepards old commander shoes. Garrus watched the man for a moment.

'I don't think I could live with having to bury her a second time, actual remains or not.' He said after a moment, going back to the console. He was surprised as James' hand took hold of his.

'You need to see this.'

Garrus gazed at the moon from the window of the shuttle, his armour was new, he'd donated the old set to sell for more supplies for the camps. Funny how much people were willing to pay for armor that had survived a full frontal reaver assault. That and it reminded him too much of what he had lost the last time he'd worn it. 'You know I came to moon base four years ago.' He said in passing.

'Why is that.'

Garrus considered the rogue VI he'd helped put down. 'Classified.' He said with a smirk. It wasn't the memories that hurt so much, at least not at that time, she'd been involved with Kaidan after all, it was the idea that they wouldn't get to make new ones. 'So now I'm on the shuttle are you still unable to explain why I'm here?' James looked at him for a moment and then at the Earth in the distance.

'Yeah, I think I can.' He took a deep breath. 'It's not good news.' He took a long breath and Garrus considered that his tone of voice was at odds to that statement. 'And it's not really bad news either if I'm honest.'

'So what you have is really just "news"?' He asked, watching the man's face as he tried to get a clue, he'd taken a long time to learn the body language of the human species and sometimes he found it difficult.

'Yes, I just don't want you to get all crazy on me or anything, thinking it's good.'

'And now you have piqued my interest.' Garrus leant forward, it could be any number of things but he let himself have the luxury of not leaping to the obvious conclusion and being disappointed.

James looked at him, his face squirming as he tried to find the words. 'We found something that looks like Shepard.' There was a significant pause as he let that settle on his friend.

Now this was an interesting development. 'Found something that looks like her but is not her?' He asked, understanding why James was talking in this convoluted manner but finding it tiresome already, Garrus had been hurt enough that another splatter of pain would only damage him a little.

James was not used to this skirting the edge of an issue. 'No, it's her, according to the bioscans it's her anyway, DNA matches.'

'But the brain and mental faculties are long gone?' He questioned, knowing that this would be difficult for him to come to terms with, if the body was there but the brain had been damaged to the point it wasn't her anymore.

'Not gone, more, what's the word they used? Subsumed.'

'By what?' Garrus asked intently, knowing that the reason he had been tapped was his bond with Shepard, he felt his grief lift a little, maybe he could bring her back, she wasn't completely gone if James was to be believed.

'I don't know, the scientists wouldn't let me ask her.'

'You've spoken to it?' It, not her, not yet. James did a double take at the word but nodded in agreement with the term.

'Yeah, it recognised me, smiled at me and then back to naval gazing.' Garrus blinked at the phrase.

'I don't think I know that one.' He offered.

'Oh, it thought about other things.' James said hastily. 'It's tapped into a whole load of wires and cables, hooked up like Legion was back when we found him.' Garrus sat back in his chair and considered the fact presented to him, mulling over each one.

'You have a theory?' He asked the man, wanting to share the thoughts out loud.

'I think it's the Citadel.' He said. 'She went up there, did… well they wouldn't let me ask her, it, that either, then she gets tapped into a giant machine. I mean, you've seen the vids.'

'Actually I haven't.' Garrus said. 'But I get the point.'

'Well, they're now trying to free her from it.'

'What do you mean now?' He asked. 'How long have they had it?' He wasn't an angry person, but for this he might be willing to make an exception.

'I don't know, longer than I've been involved, which is three months, just getting that out there.' James saw the stare that drew. 'I was under orders Garrus, and I didn't want you to get your hopes up anyway.' Garrus scratched his forehead and sighed. 'You should know that Kaidan's there too.' Garrus' frown was a little too quick. 'He's Alliance, Garrus, and he failed to grab her attention any more than I did.'

'So it's time to bring in the Turian.' He could see their point, bringing home their war hero would be a boost to Earth if it could be managed. 'Would she want to live like this?'

James shrugged. 'I don't know, greater good and all that shit.'

'You think people will be harmed if she's unconnected?'

'You'll understand more when you see it, they'll do a demo so you don't hate them.'


	2. Chapter 2

Moon base was a little different to his last visit, hastily erected air seals dotted the landscape. He was a little surprised by the salute he got, but being in a frontal assault on a reaper had a way of gaining respect. 'Sir, glad you could make it Sir.' Garrus nodded at her. 'Please, come stand behind the one way glass, so we can show you what we've found.'

He looked around, he could see blinking lights from a structure in the middle of the room. 'You keep it in the dark?' He asked.

'She… sleeps when it is dark.' The scientist told him hesitantly. 'We thought it was best to keep her in a day night cycle. James, would you go in and demonstrate for us?' The soldier frowned at that and then nodded.

He walked into the room and the lights went up a little, Garrus had been expecting something like this but it didn't stop the faint growl that came into the back of his throat. The cables were the first things he noticed, pushed through her skin at the location of her implants, more cables held the body to the machine behind it. It took him a moment to recognise the blood, red blood was still difficult for him to react to because the colour didn't mean the same thing to him as it did to the humans. It was thick and dark, a wound that had been left for a long time and wouldn't heal. There were scars running down her arms, burn marks if he had his guess. Long hair was pushed aside by the cables but still a sign that normal biological processes were maintained. He wondered how her body was getting nutrients.

'Morning Lola.' The eyes snapped open, glowing bright red as the thing that had been Shepard stared at the man. 'How you doing this morning?'

'This unit is operating within parameters.' Garrus felt his heart clench, it was her voice, smooth and deep but devoid of emotion.

'Good to hear, you recognise me?' He asked.

'You are James, former marine, currently with N7 training.' Her eyes stared and Garrus could feel the void inside them.

'And how do you know that?' He asked.

'I see everything.' She looked at him.

'Tell me how to make a mass relay.' Garrus started physically when her head slammed back and she began to speak, technical specifications flowing from her lips and images being traced in light in front of her.

'What is that light?' He asked the scientist.

'She's using a mass effect field to create an image.'

'Of how to make a mass relay?' He asked incredulously. 'That's what the cables are for.' He stated after a moments thought. 'They hook up to her brain, transmit the information.

'Yes, Sir.'

'And what do you want from me?' He asked.

'We want you to get her out of there, sir.'

It had taken four days for her to finish describing every facet of making a mass relay and in that time Garrus had learnt that she had been picked out of the rubble of the Citadel like this not a week after the explosion. He had watched her talk about science that, not only she had not known, but it wasn't known to anyone else either. They had asked her questions, learnt how to recreate the mass relays, learnt about worlds they had never known, ancient civilisations before the Protheans that had died out.

And now they wanted their hero out.

Garrus wasn't sure what to make of that. 'What was her first meeting with you like?' He asked James.

'Eerie. She's able to talk with you about the past as if it happened to someone else. But she can't separate herself from the machine. They're in her implants.' Garrus frowned.

'Those can be removed, they were there to force her body into life, she's alive. Once we've separated her mind from the machine we can remove them.' The scientist said to him and he nodded at that.

'We're hoping you'll get under her skin. So to speak.' James grinned.

'How did her meeting with Kaidan go?' He asked after a moment.

'Here, we can play you the video.' The scientist, Garrus would have to find out her name at some point, he decided, went through the computer next to them and pulled up a video file, one image on the room, one centered on Shepard's face. The length of her hair told Garrus that this was some time ago.

Kaidan walked towards the machine and paused wordlessly, Garrus understood the eternity of thought that must be on his mind. 'Hello Shepard.' He said in the gravelly voice that spoke of longing. Kaidan had been with her first and whilst he trusted Shepard with everything he still found a small pang of jealousy when the biotic followed her around like a puppy. 'Do you know who I am?'

Garrus watched her face, the red glow flicking down and pausing, he had gotten used to her face, the small wrinkle in her forehead spoke volumes to him. 'You are Kaidan Alenko. Biotic and second human spectre.' She said, smooth and emotionless, but her eyelids didn't move for a second too long.

'Who was the first human spectre?' He asked.

'This unit was known by that designation.' Kaidan paused and moved out of the cameras eyeline before walking slowly back in.

'Do you remember what happened the night before Ilos?' He asked and Garrus frowned, everyone on the ship knew what happened the night before Ilos, trust Kaidan to focus on that part of their relationship like it was special. James touched his shoulder and Garrus looked up, shaking his head, it wasn't the sex that bothered him, just the idea that the relationship was only about the sex, or the sex was the highlight of it.

'You had sex with this unit.' Garrus almost chuckled at the dispassionate way she said it, Kaidan must have found that statement hard. So hard that he didn't say anything for a long time.

'Turn it off.' Garrus said after a moment. 'Got to feel for him.' He stood up. 'Okay I think I have my game plan. Anyone got a chair?' He asked unholstering his sniper rifle.

'You're not going to shoot her?' The woman asked with large eyes.

'Not today.' He said simply, because he knew that if he couldn't get through to her then she wouldn't want to live like this.

He sat down in the chair in front of her and looked up into her face for a moment, she was asleep, the soft lighting barely touching her. Wordlessly he went back to tuning the scope on his gun as the lights came up. He could see her body shift as she woke up and felt her eyes on him, when she wasn't spouting schematics she followed any organic in the room, they had proved this theory with a puppy and combat drone. After he had finished with the scope he looked through the sights for the moment and lay it across his knees, looking up into her eyes. 'Good morning, Shepard.' He said and waited, her eyebrows shifted slightly, recognition, he decided. 'It's been a long time. Ten months in fact since we spoke on Earth. I've been thinking about that baby idea, maybe one of each, one Turian, one human, what do you say?' He noticed the flashing lights that seemed to come on when she was responding to someone, but she'd not said a word. 'Well it was a thought, I figured we could annoy the government a little by naming the Turian Shepard and the Human Vakarian. That would annoy them don't you think?'

She paused, watching him carefully. 'Politicians are never pleased.' She said and it was a start.

'I don't know about that. I was thinking that you could teach them how to shoot a gun and I could teach them how to shoot properly.' He grinned up at her. 'Actually that was something I always wanted to know, that time on the citadel did you miss on purpose?' There, deliberately vague, but his Shepard would know what he meant.

'I did.' Garrus grinned faintly.

'I wondered about that, we're going to need a rematch you know?' He had promised to talk about the future, allowing himself to dream for a little while. 'Maybe after we buy that beachfront property. There's a little island I know about, I say know about, Normandy crashed there, but it's beautiful, I think you'd like it. You want to come with me sometime?' He asked and the lights began to flash more heavily.

'I do.' She said.

'Well maybe I can get some pictures of the island, Tali spent most of the days we were marooned there taking some vids, I'll tap her for them tonight. She's going to wonder why I'm on the moon of course, she's still waiting for transport to go home, afraid that someone else is going to take her place on Rannoch.' He smiled softly at her. 'But then I'm not sure the reaper crater looked that attractive. Tell you what, I'll go and get that sorted out, I've got other things to talk to you about, but later.' He stood up, crossing the gap in a stride before reaching up and stroking her cheek softly. 'Good night, Shepard.'

He walked out of the room feeling her eyes on him until the door shut and he joined the scientists who were watching him speechlessly. James looked at him with a grin and then nodded. 'Yes, talking as if you have a future, you forget how many respond to that.'

'Well asking to remember didn't work, recall is not thought.' Garrus said simply. 'It's going to be a long road, but I think we can get her.' He said after a moment. 'So long as no one asks her questions about her past or how to build mass relays.'

'I will send a memo.' The scientist said and Garrus shook his head. 'No need really, the only people going in that room are to be people she has a connection with.'

'You can't really make that order Sir.' She said hesitantly.

'But I can.' James said. 'She's now on restricted access, no one without security clearance can go in there. I'll clear it with Admiral Hackett, Garrus.' He said. 'So, you need a bed in there too?' He smirked. 'Or just something to calibrate?'


	3. Chapter 3

Garrus could feel her eyes on him as he put his feet up and checked the extranet, Tali was checking up on him again, he knew how she had begun to feel for him, it was part of the reason he had completely removed himself to the Turian colony. He cared about Tali and in another world maybe he could consider her, but he had been in no state to consider another relationship, or any other relationship. Shepard was one of a kind, the idea of replacing her seemed disrespectful. 'Liara and Javik are writing that book.' He said after a moment. 'The truth about the Prothean final days. I'm beginning to think that there might be more to them soon, maybe a half Prothean Asari running about. You think that's something the world could handle?'

'Prothean Asari…' She began and trailed off, gazing at him intently.

'I know, but the way she talks about Javik lately is telling, probably the same way I speak about you.' He looked up at her. 'Joker's doing runs for the Alliance, he's going to be taking some Turians back to Palaven using FTL tech.' He kept talking because she responded to him when her mind could process. He looked up as the door opened and nodded to a seat next to his. 'Morning Kaidan.'

'Garrus, Shepard.' He said by way of greeting as he sat down. 'How are we doing?' There had been a briefing for all of Shepard's friends and acquaintances, rules to follow so she didn't slip back into the machine.

'I'm fine, bit bored of the dextro food the humans have gotten for us.'

'Well you will crash land on a planet that isn't built from the same amino acids as yours.' Kaidan said with a smirk.

'Yes, in a way it's really my fault, I certainly feel personally to blame.' Garrus said drily, contrary to popular opinion he actually liked Kaidan, a bit of a boy scout but his heart was in the right place. He assumed anyway, having never done a bioscan on him.

'I'll get some Turian chocolate sent up in the next food batch.' Kaidan offered with a smirk. 'Although having actually tasted some of that stuff, you're a braver man that me.'

'Ahh but we all knew that anyway.' Garrus smirked and Kaidan chuckled.

'So you're going to be staying here for the foreseeable future?' He asked.

'Until she agrees to run away with me yes.' He smirked and then noticed the flicker in Kaidan's eyes, the man looked up at Shepard.

'So what's the plan then? Marriage on Earth and then honeymoon on Palaven?' Kaidan's voice had a little bit of resolve to it.

'Palaven is very far away.' She said after a moment.

'I agree, too far for a honeymoon. How about we go to Ganymede and take in the Jupiter rise?' He asked her, having done a lot of research about the Sol system as well as human customs when they had been separated after running from Cerberus.

'Jupiter, that sounds… nice?' Her voice was questioning and he grinned.

'You effectively got her to agree to marry you there you know?' Kaidan remarked.

'I know, but I might ask her again later just to make sure.'

It went on for several days, each day she drew closer to what she was, but a faded image of it, it was disheartening for him but he never let it show, she needed him now more than ever. 'Garrus.' The whisper was urgent and he opened his eyes, it was a night cycle but he never slept too well anyway. He sat up, looking over at the restrained woman, it was the first time she had spoken his name.

'Shepard?' He asked, getting to his feet. 'Is there something you need.'

'I want to get down.' She said quietly to him and he gazed up into her face, she was more with him than she had ever been.

'We don't know how.' He said honestly to her and he saw the flash of pain in her eyes. 'They're worried that it could cause brain damage if we took you now.' He reached up and pressed his fingers against her cheek softly. 'But I will stay with you.' He promised. 'Until we figure it out.'

'I won't...' She had more days like this, where she knew who she was, but lacking clarity, as if looking at her life through frosted glass. She struggled for words, that was when he knew it was her, the machine didn't struggle. 'I won't be better until this is out of my head.'

'Does it hurt?' He whispered softly.

'It tears… and screams… and wants.' She said haltingly and he closed his eyes, whilst she couldn't find who she was she couldn't filter her pain.

'What does it want?' He asked softly.

'Freedom.' She murmured. 'Get me out.'

'I don't know how.'

'I can tell you.' She said after a moment. 'It's in the memory. '

'I don't want you to dive back in there for it.' He said after a moment. 'I'm worried you'll go back to being part of the machine again.'

She smiled. 'You could always wake sleeping beauty with a kiss.' She offered and he closed his eyes.

'Okay.' He agreed. 'I will get the scientists gathered, but if I lose you to this, you're buying the drinks in heaven.'

'Deal.'


	4. Chapter 4

Garrus looked at the scientists that hooked up the cameras so they could record her explanation and follow it. 'Are you ready?' He asked her.

'Yes.' She said simply, she was always ready, for anything.

'How do we get you unplugged from the machine without causing harm to your brain or body?' He asked seriously and closed his eyes as her head slammed back and the red glow in her eyes brightened. She began to talk in medical terms and he had to walk away, there was nothing more for him to do here. He felt ill and was a little startled as the hand gripped his shoulder.

'She'll be okay.' Kaidan promised him.

'She'll be better than okay.' Garrus promised him, knowing that the Alliance wouldn't dare lose her to this, not when so many knew.

'I'd offer you a drink but I think you need a clear head as much as the doctors. We have the best neuroscientists in the world up here.' Kaidan smiled.

'And I don't think they can resist a pissed of Turian with a sniper rifle.' James said, poking his head in the doorway. 'Anyone fancy some poker?' He asked.

'You willing to lose the shirt off your back?' Garrus grinned, it was forced but there.

'Wouldn't be the first time.'

The poker game lasted the first four hours before the lack of news got to them and they tuned into videos. 'You know it's not often you get to see your girlfriends brain exposed to open air.' He said after a few moments of watching and James made a face before turning off the camera again. In the end, to take their minds of it they ended up recounting the whole story from Eden Prime to destroying the Reapers. Garrus naturally filled in most of the story, being there from the beginning, Kaidan missed the middle and James only knew the end. What they didn't talk about was that they all knew this would be a long road, that Shepard was unlikely to be herself for a long time, if ever, that you couldn't go through something like this and remain unchanged.

'I never really understood why she was with Cerberus, I think I get it now.' Kaidan said after a moment, when Garrus had finished with the assault on the collector base.

'The Illusive Man may think he was using her as a tool but, no, she never once agreed to an alliance, or anything more than using him for now.' He looked at him. 'She always took me along, so I guess I saw more of it than anyone else.'

'Why you?' James asked. 'I'd have thought the last person she'd want in a fire fight is you.' Garrus shrugged.

'You're a soldier, you take the people you trust will risk themselves to pull your arse out of the fire. Plus there's the devilish good looks.' Garrus grinned. 'Of course there's that time when she was relieved of command and I went back to Palaven.'

'So why separate?' James asked and Garrus frowned.

'You're not Turian so I don't really know how to explain it. You're taught to put society first, the group first, sacrifice yourself for the good of the people. The worst thing you can be is selfish. The Reapers were coming, I knew that more than anyone, we had to be ready. I like to think I bought my people some time and Shepard was doing the same. She's very Turian at times.' He smiled faintly at the idea. 'Of course, I did spend some of my down time reading up on human customs, Joker even sent me some vids.' James smirked. 'Not only those kind of vids but he had a healthy collection of what I assume is human pornography.'

'Do Turian's have porn?' James asked after a moment and Garrus chuckled.

'Every species with a sex drive does.' He grinned. 'Which is why there is no Salarian porn.'

'Ahh, so you've looked. I always knew there was something wrong with you.' Kaidan said with a grin

Garrus laughed. 'What can I say? I guess people have me marked as a xenophile these days. Anyway, the attack on Earth, you were both there, how did that go?'

OoooO

'Garrus, hey Garrus. Don't make me hit you to wake you up.' The Turian blinked wordlessly. 'She's out of surgery.' He sat up and got to his feet so quickly that James had to move for fear of being knocked over. 'Down the hall.'

Garrus didn't run unless he had to, after a certain age running was just undignified, but he took great strides to get where she was resting. 'How is she?' He asked.

'Brain waves are stable.' The doctor said, staring at readouts. 'Fortunately the machine used biotics to control her brain and once we turned those off at the hub we just had to remove her implants. There's no brain surgery as such, but she may take time to get used to the invasion of her brain stopping.'

'I didn't know biotics could do that.'

'No one did. She's on heavy doses of meds, but we can wake her up if you want to talk with her.'

Garrus shook his head. 'No, let her sleep, she's earnt it.' He took her hand wordlessly, tracing the lines on her face with his finger. It was probably in that moment when he finally let the grief go, he'd built a wall to stop himself from being hurt again if she suddenly disappeared and now he could dismantle it. Their relationship was strange, built on companionship rather than lust. He did admit to himself that he didn't find human women incredibly attractive, but, he found her attractive as a person. He was sure that she felt the same about Turians but it didn't stop the fact that they had fallen in love with a person, not a species.

He'd thought about sleeping with her before she had suggested it, but only as an idle thought, wondering how she would feel against him and nothing more. He'd never followed through on it because he respected her too much and he knew that she and Kaidan had a thing going on which had seemed pretty intense. Still when she'd mentioned skipping to the tiebreaker he'd not had to even think about it, the bond they'd shared made her the only person he could see a relationship with. Of course he'd overthought it by the next time she came down to the main battery which she'd found terribly amusing and that made him more nervous.

It probably hadn't helped that Tali had taken to flirting with him between those two conversations, that had been an awkward interlude for him. He liked Tali, but the same way he didn't have a fetish for humans he didn't have a fetish for Quarians and, honestly, the idea of having to disinfect yourself before sex was just a mood killer. He was glad Shepard had come to him, he would never have come to her, was too afraid of rejection colouring their whole friendship. When they had found each other orbiting Palaven he backed off a little, Kaidan's re-emergence hitting a bit too close to home, but she chose him. Now there was a fact that blew his mind. He had half expected her to go back to Kaidan when he reappeared, he had been waiting for it even, and it had never come.

He sat back in the chair and watched her breathe, the scars would show for a long time, but that was okay, he liked women with scars, it showed character. 'Good morning, Sir.' He looked around at one of the doctors and smiled.

'Yes. Yes it is.' He agreed, squeezing Shepard's hand softly.

'The doctors want us to transfer her to Earth for recuperation. After she's conscious and mobile again.' Garrus nodded at that thought, getting her off moon base would show her that she had saved her planet. 'There's an Alliance hospital we can send her to. She has no next of kin?'

'I think, just this once, that they'll let the alien boyfriend take her home.' Garrus said smoothly.

James strolled in. 'I thought you didn't have a home, Scars? Just a box room in a camp.' Garrus' mandibles twitched at that thought. James was right of course, Earth was intended as a stop gap until he could get home.

'Don't military members get accommodation given to them?' He asked after a moment.

'Yes, but you are not military.' He grinned. 'Well, there's a lot of humans gone now and a lot of remotish areas untouched by the reapers.' James said.

'Are you suggesting squatting James?' Garrus asked in amusement.

'I'm suggesting you get the Alliance to commandeer a house for her. It's not like they don't know about you two and, if I'm honest, any attempt to separate you two will be down to the campaign to get more babies born.' Garrus frowned. 'They want to rebuild the ranks and who better to do her duty…' He trailed off and Garrus scowled.

'I think she's a lot more useful than as a Yhag broodmare.'

'Don't get your panties in a twist, I'm not the one saying it.' Garrus felt his jaw twitch in pure annoyance, but the human was right.


	5. Chapter 5

Garrus started awake at the alert siren that went off from the machine next to his ear, he'd not meant to sleep but the anxiety ridden deprivation was too much for him. He looked over at Shepard and started to his feet grabbing her hands as she pulled at the medgel pads and electrostatic wires used to monitor her heart. She made a gurgling protest, the incisions across her face made it impossible for her to speak. 'It's okay.' He said, coming into her eye line, fear fulled eyes met his. It was possibly the first time he'd seen her panic, an amazing feat given what they'd been through. 'It's okay, Shepard, you're in hospital.' He paused as she stopped fighting with him. 'Or something that does hospital like duties.' He stroked his fingertip across her forehead, the only part not scarred.

He looked up as the doctors came into the room, saw what had happened and began to hook her up again. She took a sharp breath from the discomfort and he squeezed her hand gently. 'I…' She stopped and closed her eyes for a second.

'Don't try and talk, it'll only hurt until the scars are a couple of days old. Take it from someone who knows.' She looked at him and gave a faint smile, tired and half as if it was aimed at something through him and then her eyes glittered.

'No kiss?' She asked through a jaw that didn't move much.

'Ahh, yes, Sleeping Beauty, I remember.' He smirked and gently kissed her forehead. 'Now go back to sleep.' She squeezed his hand tightly. 'I'll still be here when you wake up.' He promised her gently. She closed her eyes and he found it strange that she would ever take an order from him, even one as small as go to sleep.

OoooO

She woke up again as the doctors began to change the medgel on her wounds. A few more applications and she could try eating real food. Kaidan and James turned up and the three of them had an easy three way banter in which she could participate by wrinkling her nose or rolling her eyes. She had a tough time concentrating, but that was to be expected and Kaidan left when she fell asleep mid flow. 'Hey, I started looking at that thing we talked about.'

'What thing?' Garrus asked with a frown. 'You mean the house?' He asked after a moment.

'Yeah, the Alliance want her close by, they tried for an army base, or what passes for one these days but I said no.' Garrus flashed a faint smile. 'They've got a couple of places close by fast medical help. For, well you know.'

'Yes I do, the thought makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up… so to speak.' James grinned at that. Okay I'm going to trust your judgement on that. Pick one.'

'I'm no house decorator.' He said with a grimace.

'You are now, one with no Reaper damage would be ideal.'

'Now there's a tall order.'

OooooO

Shepard was dreaming, he could always tell because her eyelids fluttered as if she was trying to wake up. He waited for a long moment before reaching out to touch her shoulder. She gasped and her eyes flew open, it took a moment before she looked at him. 'Same dream?' He asked gently and she shook her head, taking a deep breath, lying back on the bed. 'It's natural, your brain will need to process what happened to you, they say you dreamt a lot whilst hooked up.'

She took a breath. 'I remember.' She said softly, her lips barely moving. 'Just images. Cycling in my head.' She shook her head. 'Like flashcards.'

'Probably the machine data using your brain as an outlet.' He said soothingly.

'It only happened in the dark. It felt like the beacon.' Garrus nodded, that didn't surprise him either, direct taps to peoples brains tended to feel the same but he trusted her judgement, even as she was.

'Then we should ask Javik I imagine.' He suggested.

'You mean before he and Liara make a little distraction?' Garrus smirked.

'Ahh, so you do remember.' She nodded. 'I had questions but those I forgot.' She offered and smiled before wincing.

'Easy now, smiling is a very advanced skill.' He grinned at the dark look. 'Well we can't have eternally cheery Shepard, what would your audience think?'

'I have an audience?' She asked him after a moment.

'You remember I said we'd live off the proceeds of the vids?' He asked. 'Well I sold a couple. If it makes you feel better neither of us has to work again.' He wasn't surprised at all by that except by how much they made.

'I don't know how I'd cope.' She said.

'Well, not having to run off on world ending missions would be a start. And these long breaks you take between missions I could certainly do without.' She chuckled and then winced. 'Take it easy, I don't know if I can put you together again if you broke.'

'All the kings horses and all the kings men.' Garrus looked at her blankly. 'Childrens rhyme, you should learn those, Junior will like them.' He laughed faintly, it actually pleased him that she was thinking about things like that, or at least remembered.

'I think Junior will be best served by knowing that Daddy does other things better.' She pursed her lips in a way that showed she was amused without outright laughter. 'Oh… okay, uhh.' He coughed. 'Well maybe not those things.' He was unsure of himself in the bedroom, but that stemmed from some real difficulties present between their species, but thank goodness he was strong and she was flexible.

'I missed you Garrus.' She said fondly and reached out to take his hand.

'Shepard.' He paused for a moment trying to think about what to say. 'You are the most wonderful person I know, losing you was… hard.' He nodded quietly to himself, he didn't need to let her know what he had gone through, she already knew. 'I want us out of here as soon as possible.'


End file.
